Fire kills 14 at German workshop for disabled
At least 14 people have died and seven people were injured in a major fire at a workshop for disabled people in south-western Germany.
The blaze occurred at the centre run by the Caritas charity in the Black Forest town of Titisee-Neustadt, some 40km (25 miles) east of Freiburg.
About 50 people were believed to be in the building when the fire started.
The cause is unclear, but local media reports that there may have been an explosion in a store room.
The centre is reportedly used for woodwork and metalwork, but it is not known whether if any flammable materials were on site.
The blaze occurred at about 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT), and flames were first spotted on the roof of the modern three-storey building.
The fire quickly took hold and engulfed the building. Smoke was still billowing out of the building more than an hour after the fire started.
More than 100 firefighters backed by helicopters were called to the scene – some, wearing breathing apparatus, braved the thick smoke to rescue a number of people trapped inside.
But police confirmed that not every one made it out.
“We can tell you that we have 14 dead.
The process of identification is ongoing,” local police spokesman Karl-Heinz Schmid told N24 television.
He said it would “take days” for the investigation to get to the cause of the fire.
Police confirmed that seven people had been injured, mainly suffering from smoke inhalation, but none of the injuries were life-threatening.
